Paradise Papua New Guinea's Blog

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Lying just south of the equator, 160km north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is part of a great arc of mountains stretching from Asia, through Indonesia and into the South Pacific. This fascinating land boasts more than 600 islands and more than 800 indigenous languages (tok ples), and is home to the largest area of intact rainforest outside of the Amazon.

Papua New Guinea consists of 4 regions made up of 19 provinces and the National Capital District, each with their own special character and cultures. Visitors will discover a wealth of tropical scenery, from the jungle-clad mountains of the highlands to the sandy white beaches and atolls of the coastal and island provinces.

Vast tracts of the country are wild and undeveloped, with magnificent scenery that ranges from pristine coral atolls to volcanic mountains, dense tropical rainforest and large rivers. The mainland is divided by the Owen Stanley Range, a massive central spike with peaks towering over 4000m. Great rivers begin their journey to the sea from these mountains, among them the mighty Sepik River, one of the world's longest waterways.

Beneath the mountain chain, fertile coastal plains, flooded delta regions and mangrove swamps exist alongside broad sandy beaches and sheltered bays. The rugged mountain terrain and deep cave systems offer wonderful adventure opportunities for walkers, cavers and climbers, and there is canoeing, kayaking and fishing on the river and delta system. Papua New Guinea also enjoys some of the world's best diving around its warm coastal waters, with striking coral reefs around the mainland coast and the islands of the Bismarck Sea and the Milne Bay area

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Papua New Guinea will be celebrating its 34th Independence anniversary on the 16th september 2009.

PORT Moresby city residents will start the 34th Independence celebration this morning at the Jack Pidik Park to welcome major events of tomorrow.National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop announced this yesterday, saying this was to give the spirit of Independence to the people. Mr Parkop said the people had not been actively celebrating the country’s birthday in the recent past like it used to be. “We are trying as much as possible to give the spirit of Independence back to the city residents,” he said.

Mr Parkop said this would also be an inspiration to other countries that were not independent so that they could strive for it. He said it was all about freedom therefore people should have freedom to do anything they wanted to do for their development. The governor said it was important for every Papua New Guinean to recognise and appreciate Indepen-dence because it was through this event that PNG had come this far in terms of development “I don’t know what plan the National Government has for this 34th anniver-sary but as for NCD I declare two-day holidays for the employees in the city,” he said. Governor Parkop said all the public and private organisations should release their employees so that they could celebrate the Independence for two days. He said people should appreciate this and celebrate the event because if the country had not gained Independence they wouldn’t be developing.

Mr Parkop said the Independence celebrations were also aimed at reviving the dying cultures, traditions and indigenous arts of PNG. “We are trying as much as possible to create a place for the children and their parents to enjoy the city life,” he said. The celebration this morning will start at Jack Pidik Park and end with a music festival at Sir John Guise Stadium at about five o’clock in the afternoon and the main events will take place at the stadium tomorrow morning. It will be a significant day for PNG therefore the celebrations will run for two days and will include the annual Hiri Moale Festival, which is also a part of the Independence celebration where the Motu Koitanbuans celebrate their traditions.The NCDC allocated about K800,000 for the Hiri Moale Festival, unlike last year where the event got about K500,000. The University of Papua New Guinea was given about K10,000 while thePacific Adventist University got K2000 to help the students stage their own celebrations in their respective campuses.